Rise Above It
by Me Llamo Berry
Summary: One week after rescuing Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, Harry realizes that neither of them are handling the events well. After talking to Ginny about nightmares, he decides to go against engrained habit and approach someone for help.
1. 1: The Start of a New Friendship

**A/n Finally thought I'd try my hand at a Harry gets help fanfiction. Hope you enjoy.**

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><p>It was dark out at Gryffindor tower. Well, really it was dark everywhere, but the focus of the story is on Gryffindor. In the second year boys dorm, five boys slept. One boy tossed and turned, twisting in his blankets, moaning, though it wasn't audible outside his bed.<p>

Harry woke with a muffled scream. He struggled against his blankets wildly for a moment, still caught up in his nightmare. He breathed heavily as he did so, looking around wildly until he fell out of bed with a thump. He shook his head and tried to calm down. He untangled himself, and looked around. None of the other boys had woken up, to his relief.

He felt grateful he'd found that silencing charm. It kept him from waking anyone up from his screaming. Took him a few sleepless nights to find it though, but it was worth it. Keeping his nightmares from his dormmates. Dean and Seamus would mostly just be annoyed that they lost sleep, which was bad enough. Neville would be concerned, but wouldn't say so, and then there was Ron... Ron would ask a million questions, not understanding he didn't want to talk, and if he did... Ron would fail to understand. After all why would he have nightmares about his most recent heroic feat? Sure the other boy had been terrified of losing his younger sister, but he didn't truly understand the danger both Harry and Ginny had faced.

Harry shivered and shook his head. Ron wasn't there to feel the fear he had when he saw Ginny, when he lost his wand, when the basilisk appeared... He barely survived, but his nightmares centered around Ginny accusing him of failing, of being too late. He ran his hand through his hair, noting that it was damp with sweat. He sighed and checked his watch. 3am. He knew he wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. A years worth of experience with nightmares taught him that. The only difference now was more material to torture him with.

The black haired preteen tossed his blankets onto the bed and closed his curtains. He pulled on some clothes and grabbed a book to read. He headed down to the common room. No one would be there at this hour, and he could relax until it was officially time to be up. He settled down into the most comfy chair by the fire and opened his book.

"H-harry?" Ginny's voice startled him into looking up. He blinked, then registered how pale she was, close to how pale she was in the Chamber. He dropped his book and went over to her.

"Ginny, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Why are you up?" She blushed and looked at her feet.

"I... had a nightmare," she mumbled in shame before asking more clearly and louder. "Why are you up?" Harry froze for a moment then decided to make things even and help her feel better. He pulled her over to a couch and sat down with her.

"I had a nightmare too," he admitted softly. At her surprised look, he decided to clarify. "I'd been too late to save you." He shuddered. "And you kept accusing me of... not being a hero or not caring..." He looked away, tears glistening behind his glasses as he willed them not to fall.

"I'd never do that! You arrived in time and you saved me!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. She hesitated. "My nightmare was about Tom taunting me about what I did..." She sniffled before bursting into tears. Harry sat frozen for a moment before returning the hug she had yet to release him from.

"It's not your fault... Tom was Voldemort and Voldemort was powerful... you're only 11 you can't do much against him, you survived..." He counted on his fingers from September to May. "9 months before he went for becoming alive. You were brilliant, and it's not your fault he made you do those things!" Harry responded softly, not wanting to wake anyone, but firmly.

He found his hand stroking her hair, and she seemed to be calming down. He felt relief because he had no clue how to calm a crying girl down, he just reacted. Finally she pulled away slightly and looked up at him tearfully.

"Thank you..." she whispered. "I've... I've been having nightmares since..." She sniffled again and tightened her hug. Harry nodded.

"Me too and I still get occasional nightmares from last year too," he responded quietly. "I'm glad I'm not the only one this time, though I hate you had to go through that..." She nodded shyly.

"Yeah... I can't believe it's only been a week... I wish I didn't either, if we still had exams, I doubt I'd pass, I don't remember half of the last two months... Mum's never going to let me grow up, my brothers are going to be super protective, and no one understands what I went through," she rambled, crying silently as she relieved herself of her worries for the first time since she woke up in the Chamber. Harry hugged her tightly instinctively.

"I don't understand what you went through, but I've had hard times too so I do have an idea. I hate it when Hermione and Ron drown me with questions and don't give me space, and Hermione thinks she understands but only manages to act like she looks down on me when she offers the advice she'd looked up..." Harry trailed off sadly. "I can't help you with that sort of problem but I could help you with your classes if you'd like, I'm not the best student but I'm sure between us we can figure it out..." Ginny stared at him hopefully.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" she questioned, disbelief. "After everything embarrassing I've done since we met?" she whispered. He nodded, smiling slightly.

"I don't like the Boy-Who-Lived fame, but you always seemed more in awe of me because of my first year than... surviving when my parents didn't. I... I've been more worried about you than Ron has been... And he didn't like it when I even talked about you so I shut up... But I'd love to help you, it's not like I'm going to get any more sleep tonight, are you?" She shook her head.

"I never get any sleep after a nightmare..." she whispered. Harry nodded, not surprised at all.

"Me either. We still have a few hours before other people start waking up, it is a Saturday after all that gives us at least 3 hours, doesn't the earliest get up at 7?" Harry asked. She nodded.

"I think so... at least that's the earliest I've seen on the weekends over the year..." she responded slowly, hardly believing that she's having a normal conversation with the boy she has every reason to have a crush on. She still did, but without the crippling nervousness, probably because he just admitted to having nightmares too.

"Alright, what class do you want to work on first?" he queried.

"Potions," she replied promptly. "I've always had trouble with it, Snape's so hard to deal with... even now, actually it may be worse..." Harry grimaced.

"I know the feeling. He hates me, and makes Neville so nervous he melts cauldrons. Sometimes it should be impossible for a potion to be messed up that badly, but he does when Snape is standing too close." Harry sighed. As much as he hated being taunted and graded low, poor Neville had it worse. He stood up and grabbed the book he was reading before returning to Ginny. He handed it to her.

"I found this when I was looking for silencing charms. It turns out Snape really hasn't been teaching us much about potions at all, not that it surprised me," he informed her. "This book talks about every ingredient and how best to harvest it for potions. Some ingredients its better to get juice by crushing it instead of slicing it, for example. It even has a few tables on reactivity so you know how to fix mistakes... oh and a substitution list too in case you run out of an ingredient... and this is only the book for those who aren't in NEWT classes. There's an even bigger book for them," Harry finished enthusiastically. Ginny stared at him for a moment, speechless before she recovered.

"Why hasn't Snape been fired yet then if he can't teach?" she questioned as she opened the book. Harry sighed.

"I don't know... Any complaints against him are ignored, believe me, Hermione has tried. Now let's start with how to prepare ingredients, that's actually very important because you can get different effects especially if it's a magical ingredient. Too bad we can't practice right now, or I'd show you an effective way to cut them."

And so the lesson on potions began. Ginny learned a lot from Harry that morning, and from her questions and explaining everything after looking it up, so did he. They also ended up laughing quite a bit. And before they knew it, students were entering the common room.

"Want to hang out with me today?" Harry asked Ginny softly. "It'd be nice to have someone who understands with me, and I don't want to leave you by yourself..." She brightened up a bit.

"Really? You'd let me do that?" she asked hopefully. He scoffed.

"Of course, you're my friend. Any of my friends can hang out with me." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Now both of us should go get ready for the day... let's meet down here in say... an hour? And then we can go to breakfast."

"Thanks Harry, you're the nicest person I've ever met!" She hugged him impulsively. He stiffened before smiling and patting her on the back.

"You're welcome. I really do want you to be my friend," he told her quietly before they parted ways.

They were some of the first few down for breakfast. Many Ravenclaws were up, being overachievers, and same with Slytherins. Of course many still had fallen to teenage syndrome where they slept in when possible, planning on staying up late if they had to. Most preferred that. There was just something about getting up early that most students hated. Percy was the only one of the Gryffindors down for breakfast, no surprise, and he had his nose stuck in a book and so didn't notice them.

They held a quiet discussion of random things, carefully avoiding the topic of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry spent a lot of the time observing Ginny, and was coming to the conclusion that she wasn't recovering well if at all. She looked just as bad as she did before being taken down there. Pale, dark bags under her eyes, withdrawn, skinny. Neither of them ate much either. Harry knew this wasn't very healthy, for either of them, though she certainly looked the worse off. So he made an effort to be sure she ate a decent meal for breakfast. She didn't seem to notice or mind. Consequently, since he ended up serving himself the same things he put on her plate, he ended up with his first good breakfast of the week. After a while, he realized that it was nearly breakfast rush time.

"I think we should think about heading to the library," he remarked anxiously. He had had enough of the stares following him around, and knew Ginny had endured the same but for different reasons. She nodded.

"Yeah," she responded softly. "That's a good place to study... I do have some charms homework I wanted to finish today." She ducked her head, hiding behind her hair. Harry smiled at her reassuringly.

"So do I. It's in my bag. Maybe I could help you out."

"You'd do that? You don't mind not being with Hermione and Ron?" she inquired shyly. It wasn't just that he was her rescuer, but that she'd found in the last week she had no real friends, not even among her brothers. It made her rather insecure as a result.

"Not at all. We don't need to stick together like glue all the time, and I'm tired of Hermione frantically trying to catch up and Ron thinking that it was a brilliant adventure... he hadn't been in danger the whole time," Harry explained with a sigh. "And I'm sick of these stares, at least in the library people are there to work not gape at me and my scar," he added bitterly. Ginny was taken aback for a bit but after considering for a bit decided that she could understand, after all she was getting tired of the pitying stares and whispers.

"I guess that would be a bit much... I do need to go get my homework though..." she whispered sheepishly. Harry had been observing the people in the hall and noticed McGonagall leave. That struck him with an idea.

"That's fine, go get it and meet me at the library, alright? I wanted to ask McGonagall about the electives I'm supposed to pick for next year, and I don't know how long it'll be so maybe you could work on some potions work or read my book until then," he suggested, pulling out said potions book, feeling a bit bad about hiding his real intentions. Ginny brightened.

"That sounds like a plan, I'll see you later then."

They left the Great Hall, parting ways for now. Just in time too, as the usual breakfast rush approached. Breakfast stopped being served at 10, so most students liked to get there around 9 or so to have a decent amount of time to eat. Otherwise they had to wait until 11 as lunch was served from 11-2 on the weekends.

Harry walked down the halls to the transfiguration classroom, feeling immensely nervous. He had never gone to Professor McGonagall before besides the incident with the stone. In hindsight it was kind of understandable why she didn't listen. Maybe they should've gone to her before. And he didn't like going to authority figures. They rarely liked him or listened to him anyways. So why bother trying. But... this wasn't just about him. It was about Ginny. She needed more help than what he could give her and she wasn't receiving any from outside sources.

He took a deep breath, reminding himself of that as he stood outside the office. He gulped and gathered all of his Gryffindor courage before knocking tentatively on the door.

"Come in," the professor called brusquely. Harry nearly turned around and gave up but opened the door slowly instead.

"Hello professor," he greeted her timidly as he approached her desk. Minerva McGonagall didn't show her surprise that he had actually come to her. It wasn't often any of her lions did, and he was the least expected of all.

"Mr. Potter," she responded and gestured to the chair in front of her desk. "Take a seat. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He sat down, fidgeting.

"Well," he began hesitantly. "I have a... friend... who's been suffering from nightmares, and I was wondering if there was anything that could help... I know in the muggle world there are people who are trained to talk through problems with people confidentially but I haven't heard of anything like that here... But I think that would help the most..." McGonagall frowned thoughtfully.

"I'd noticed that both you and Miss Weasley are suffering from little sleep, and its affecting both of your schoolwork," she answered slowly. He stiffened and stared at her, panicked. She softened and went on gently. "Relax, it's only to be expected after what both of you went through. Adults would have nightmares of it. Now, explain a bit more about what you were just asking about. The only thing we have in the wizarding world that helps with nightmares is dreamless sleep and that doesn't help all the way, as well as the fact it's not recommended for those under the age of 14, and even then only small doses until the age of 17 or 18. It's highly addictive and doesn't solve the problem," she added. She kept to the same soothing tone the whole time. She knew she was dealing with a scared 12 year old here, and needed to keep him from bolting, and so being her usual stern self was not a good idea. She smiled inwardly, it'd been a while since she'd been able to be someone other than the disciplinarian.

"I think they're called psychiatrists... They talk to people and help them through problems... many people think they're only for the weak and the crazy." Harry knew about them from his Uncle's rants, and disagreed with his Uncle's opinions. "But they really help people overcome depression and anxiety and other stuff like that. And I think that would help..." he took a deep breath before admitting it, "us. I... I can't get over these on my own and I can't help Ginny... we're only a year apart in age... And..." Another deep breath. "I still have nightmares about last year," he whispered, looking down in shame.

Professor McGonagall had heard and seen enough. She dropped her deputy headmistress role and stepped into the role she should have been fulfilling as Gryffindor Head of House. She stood up and walked around her desk before pulling the twelve year old boy into her arms. He stiffened at the touch and she felt a stab of pain. James and Lily's son should not be wary of physical touch and comfort. She kept her hug gentle rather than tightening instinctively, knowing that would make him more tense.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of," she murmured into his ear as he slowly started relaxing. "You're just a 12 year old boy who's had to do things because the adults weren't there to protect you. I still wish I'd listened to you last year instead of seeing your father trying to pull a prank. And I should've just helped you like I wanted to instead of listening to Albus afterwards. No eleven year old should be left alone after what you went through, but he thought it was perfectly fine that man." She scowled before getting back to the matter at hand. "Having nightmares is normal Harry." He looked up at her with wide eyes. She smiled at him gently. "I'll check around with some graduates to see if I can find anything for you and Ginny, but until then and even after, my door is always open. For both of you."

"R-really?" Harry stuttered, hardly daring to believe it. She brushed a hand over his head.

"Of course. I'm supposed to look after my lions but most are too stubborn to admit they need help, and my other duties make it hard to keep up with you cubs. How about this, every day after dinner you come and we can talk. It doesn't have to be about what happened, just anything you feel like talking about. And Ginny can come too," she added as an afterthought, deciding it'd be good for the Weasley girl. Harry smiled shyly at her in return, deciding not to question it for now. And he was confused about some things she said. She moved away slightly but sat down next to him.

"I... I'd like that. Oh shoot I said I'd meet Ginny in the library after talking to you about my... classes," he finished with a sigh. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What about them?" she asked, curious. He was fairly average in all his classes, which still surprised her. He was certainly smart enough to do far better, especially with who his parents were. James slacked off as much as Harry and still was near the top of the class.

"Well... there's not much information on the electives. Like, what jobs are they good for? I mean I don't want to skip a class then after deciding on a career realize it was a class I actually needed to take... And why weren't there some sort of class thing to show us what they're about? I mean the books Hermione's looked through don't seem helpful and neither are the older students..." He blushed at the appraising look she gave him.

"That is actually a good idea, giving students an idea of what to expect when they choose classes as well as an overview of what sort of careers require them..." she mused, filing that thought away to see if she could arrange for before the students left and if not, for next year. "As for the different classes... Do you want an unbiased opinion, or my honest opinion?" Harry thought for a moment.

"I think your honest opinion, professor. If you don't like something you probably have a good reason... But um could you explain it to me? No one ever does..." he added quietly in frustration. She frowned briefly at the slip, and decided it was no wonder he didn't much trust authority figures for help.

"I can do that, Harry," she agreed easily, smiling at the way he brightened a little at hearing his first name rather than his surname. "Divination is a useless subject. Predicting the future can interesting yes, and learning about how to interpret signs is nice as well, but you're only truly accurate if you have some sort of gift for it. And since there's so few seers around, the whole subject is rubbish. Even those few seers only make a few accurate predictions in their lifetimes, and since most of them are either self-fulfilling prophecies or prophecies that can only be understood after completion... even the true seers aren't very useful," she tried to explain. Harry made a face.

"I don't think I want to learn about that even if it is just an easy course," he declared. She beamed at him for his decision, knowing that other students would still take the course since it was easy even knowing that. She had actually expected it based on his work.

"Muggle studies... You don't really need it since you grew up in that world. And the course is outdated by a decade at least. You could however still take the OWL test so that you have the qualifications. Then there's the other three courses. All three are very useful."

"Alright... what do they cover?" Harry questioned, feeling a bit elated at getting some useful advice for once.

"Care of magical creatures covers just that. Magical creatures. Up until OWL level covers various creatures that are actually easy to come across and also some of the creatures that can be potions ingredients. Considering your recent history, and how often trouble finds you, it probably would be a good class for you. It's also a more active class than usual, since it includes hands on lessons where you can deal with the creatures." The boy grinned.

"That does sound pretty awesome," he admitted. "And the creatures do intrigue me." Next the professor weighed her options on which of the next two subjects to cover.

"Ancient runes covers just that. Runes. They start with Norse runes, then go onto Egyptian, those two are the most common ones people work with. Other alphabets are covered but usually later on in the course. Runes is the foundation of warding, and can be helpful in other areas of life, but they're not helpful during a fight, just in preparing for one. And don't tell the Weasley twins I said this, but some effective pranks can be set using runes," she whispered conspiratorially. Harry grinned at that, wondering if he _could_ get away with pranking. "The practical part of the course involves being able to carve or engrave the runes. It gets covered on and off until OWLs where it isn't covered as part of the test, and then is about half the course afterwards and a part of the NEWTs."

"Is it like those puzzles where you need to figure out what a sentence is and every letter is a different symbol?" Harry inquired. When he could get puzzles to do, those were some of his favorites.

"Especially when you first learn the alphabets. I take it this is a course you're interested in?" she questioned. He nodded.

"Yeah, it sounds like it could be fun and useful," he responded enthusiastically, showing a side of him only Ron and Hermione had really seen though they didn't realize it and a side Ginny was beginning to see.

"The final course is arithmancy. It's the hardest course of all of the electives, and possibly any course. Arithmancy uses numbers to break down spells, potions, and many things in life. Some of it does venture a little more towards astrology, yet it can be fairly accurate albeit not always. People always forget parents and upbringing factor into what a person is good at. Sometime in 6th and 7th year students start trying to figure out the strength of their core. It's a project for 7th year, one that lasts the whole year before they turn in the results for a grade. Sometimes the NEWT examiners take the projects to grade, other times they choose not to and set a test during what is considered the 'practical' part of the exam that is similar. A fact many do not know is that the math used can be compared to calculus in the muggle world. I've heard it from many muggle borns who come to me after graduation, talking about their progress with university. Those who had taken arithmancy always had an easier time with their math courses over any other muggle course." She watched Harry's eyes grow excited as well as thoughtful though this time he did not say anything. Despite having to be worse than Dudley, maths was his favorite subject and he always did well there when he did the work secretly and not to hand in. After a moment, he spoke up.

"Which classes do you think I should take?" he asked, after all the explanation she had given him, he knew he could trust her at least in this matter.

"That depends on what sort of careers you're thinking about," she responded after a moment. She wasn't expecting much of an answer. 12 year olds rarely had any sort of idea, but that may be because they didn't get any pamphlets or books until their career discussions with their head of house in fifth year. Maybe doing a preliminary one or something in second year to help with choosing electives was in store...

"Well... I've considered healing but other than wanting to know it for any trouble I get into because of Voldemort, I don't think I want that to be my job. I kind of want to play quidditch but I know in the muggle world people retire fairly young from sports because it takes a toll on their bodies, so I'd need another career... I really like the idea of cursebreaking though, it sounds like a lot of fun, and I don't think I could handle a desk job. And I don't know of any other careers really in the magical world... I don't even know what my parents did..." he trailed off wistfully. Minerva had to restrain her anger at finding out that Harry didn't even know that about his parents. The poor child. Though it was interesting how much thought and intelligence had gone into what he was thinking about.

"Your father chose to become an auror. They're law enforcement essentially, and they're a bit more like the military than police since they're trained more in how to fight. He was also working on a transfiguration mastery with me when he could. He would've succeeded in another few years too but..." She shook her head sadly as Harry hung onto every word, soaking up the knowledge about his parents. "Your mother was working dually on a potions mastery and a charms mastery. Professor Flitwick was mentoring her for charms, and she chose to self study for potions."

"What... what are the requirements? What does being a master at something mean?" She had never heard him so engaged, and so curious. He rarely asked questions in class.

"A master can do many things as a career. They easily get positions even if they're muggleborns, especially in businesses like broom making companies." Harry's eyes went wide, like he'd never thought of it before. "And other similar companies. Potions masters can sell their potions. A common route many who receive masteries go is research. Your mother was thinking about either opening her own apothecary or becoming an Unspeakable. They research many things, and it's all kept secret. Eventually what they learn is released to the public, after it goes through the Ministry. She also was planning on creating her own spells either way, and she did create at least one while still in school. Muffliato." She demonstrated on the door. "It prevents anybody from overhearing you. All it does is create a buzzing sound." Harry's look of awe made her smile. He pulled his wand out and mimicked her movement.

"Muffliato." He aimed his wand at the door. Minerva used a spell she rarely used, one that teachers could use to test if a spell worked without having to test it. It was more useful for charms rather than transfiguration.

"Very good," she praised. "Your mother would be proud." She had never seen him so happy. His eyes glistened with tears at the thought of making his mum proud. McGonagall put her arm around him. "Another route masters choose to go is teaching. Some teach classes, and receive money from their students. Others just mentor, like me with James, and Filius with Lily. Both Lily and James were planning on becoming Hogwarts professors eventually, even if Lily had to leave the Unspeakables for it. James after he retired from being an auror, and Lily probably around the same time."

"Really? Were they good at teaching?" Harry queried quickly. She chuckled and nodded.

"I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I let James handle a first year class. He was able to help them all at least get started on the spell, and made it fun at the same time. He would've made a great teacher."

"I wish they could've raised me..." the preteen murmured in awe. She gave him a comforting squeeze.

"As for the requirements, to even get a mentor or register to self study, one needs excellent grades in their chosen field, though sometimes with lesser grades they'll let the applicant take a test to see if they are up to the program. They also need good grades in classes that supplement their mastery. For potions, that's herbology and care of magical creatures. Both require NEWTS. Astronomy is also needed but it only requires an OWL, its necessary to know when certain ingredients can be picked, so the in depth knowledge isn't required but helpful. Charms requires transfiguration and arithmancy, and almost any other class can help. Now each mastery requires a rather large final test to be taken over the course of two weeks, a final project, which is generally a new spell, potion, transfiguration, application, or a series of improvements, varying with the mastery of course. Each mentor will require something different, and self study will have certain landmarks. I require my students to become an animagus, which is the term for a person able to turn into an animal, such as me into my cat form. Your father was a stag. He passed it off as a quick study, but I suspect he went for it while still in school which makes me wonder if any of his friends were as well."

"Cool! Can I become one?"

"Some day, Harry, some day. Now I believe you had wanted me to advise you on what classes you should take. Based on what you said, I believe you should plan on taking the muggle studies OWLs and NEWTs but not the course. I would say care of magical creatures, arithmancy, and ancient runes would be a good choice for you but I'm based on your performance throughout the last two years, I'm not sure you could handle it." She looked at him sternly. He blushed and studied his lap.

"Would... would my parents want to see me doing better?" he asked quietly. She blinked, taken aback by the question.

"They would. They would expect you to try your best, no matter if you were the top of the students or not. I don't think you are trying your best, I've noticed that your work is generally within a few points of Mr. Weasley consistently." His head hung lower. "You also don't get the spells until he's starting to make changes at the least. Are you afraid of excelling?" she inquired softly after seeing how hard he was taking her blunt words.

"I... Yeah... I suppose... the... the Dursleys never liked me doing better than Dudley so I always had to do worse than him, and... and Ron was my first friend... and he gets jealous if I do better than him and... I don't want to lose him," Harry explained tentatively, not realizing until it was too late what he revealed. To his surprise, his professor just hugged him again.

"If Mr. Weasley cannot get over his jealousy and accept it when others do better than his lack of effort, then it is not your fault." She chose not to inform him that it wasn't very friend-like behavior either, deciding that if he kept coming to her, she could broach the subject with him eventually. Harry nodded firmly.

"Then I'll do my parents proud. I really like what you said about my parents and getting a mastery and creating my own spells like my mum sounds great. I'll do better," he promised. She smiled and hugged him once more.

"Now I believe Miss Weasley will be waiting for you. Remember, you can visit me every day after dinner if you so like, including tonight if you wish." He beamed at her.

"I'd really like that, I have so many questions about my parents!" he told her excitedly. "Thank you so much... I think I'm going to try to take the three courses. I think I can handle it if I work hard, which I plan to do and all three sound so amazing I don't think I could choose." He picked up his bag before hesitating. He hugged her briefly and then left rather quickly.

She chuckled at him, pleased that he actually initiated a hug. Then McGonagall sat down to write some letters. One to a muggle born witch who was now about 27 and had gone to university to learn muggle healing. Of the students McGonagall was still in contact with, she was the most likely to have an idea of how to help Harry and Ginny. She also started writing down her observations and an outline of things she wanted to discuss with Poppy later. After that she went back to some of the essays she was grading.

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><p>Ginny was sitting in an isolated corner of the library taking notes on the potions book Harry lent her. It explained so much. Why some ingredients needed to be cut one way for one potion and another way for different potion. Even how to correct mistakes on simple potions. No more wading her way through impossible essays with this book. She wondered idly if the Slytherins knew about this. With a snort, she decided based on their high grades they probably did. Especially since some did actually earn those grades. Snape must've told them or something. She doubted that he had the patience to tutor them.<p>

"Helpful isn't it?" Harry's voice made her jump. "Sorry," he apologized sincerely. "I didn't realize you were that into taking notes. Didn't mean to make you jump." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before sitting down. He pulled out his homework. "Ready to get to work?" She nodded with a small smile as she pulled out the charms homework.

"I'm so glad Flitwick is having us do review work on everything... Means I won't be missing anything and it is a good replacement for tests," she commented. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, he's done the same with my class. After talking with McGonagall, I think it's a good thing... means I can try harder and learn it without having to do too much catching up," he remarked casually.

"What do you mean try harder?" she questioned curiously. Harry froze for a moment, wondering how he slipped up. He never slipped up around Ron and Hermione. With a sigh he decided to answer.

"I... I've been holding back. And if I don't work hard, I won't be able to handle the three electives I'm going to be taking," he explained hesitantly. She regarded him for a moment.

"Alright." She started flipping through the charms book. Harry stared at her, quill hanging loosely in his fingers. After a bit, it fell. Ginny looked up, startled and then grew worried and self conscious.

"What?" she asked quietly, eyes wide as she tried not to squeak and freak out. He jumped and blinked. Then he sighed.

"I was just... I was surprised. If Ron or Hermione heard me say that... they'd bother me for more answers, with Ron wondering why I want to take three electives instead of taking things easy, and Hermione going between proud and anxiously trying to force me to work harder. And they'd keep asking me questions... no privacy once I slip up," he clarified slowly, wondering how he could trust Ginny so much already. Sure she wasn't actually pressing him for questions, but what else was it? Was it just that they felt so close already because of what they went through? This friendship didn't feel like his friendship with Ron or Hermione. Ginny gaped at him.

"That's... that's so rude Harry! They have no right to stick their noses in your business, not when they don't share those things with you!" Ginny ranted furiously. Harry shrunk a little. It was no wonder the twins were scared of getting on her bad side. That was probably the only reason they hadn't been body-guarding her like Percy and Ron kept attempting.

"I... yeah. I guess I thought it was unfair but... they're my first friends... I didn't want to lose them..." he mumbled sheepishly. Ginny softened.

"That doesn't make it right, and it means that maybe they're not the best friends you could have," she told him gently. "I've had a little more experience than you with that... Trust me, they shouldn't be prying like that. And they shouldn't be dictating your every move either." Harry sighed.

"Yeah... McGonagall said that I shouldn't let Ron decide how well I do in school... And I think she agrees with you... I just... I don't know what to do... I've never had to confront anyone before... If I tried that at the Dursleys..." He shuddered. Ginny chose to change the subject.

"Did McGonagall say anything else?" she questioned curiously. "You don't have to tell me," she added hastily.

"Well... she said I can visit her every day after dinner... and that you can come too if you'd like... and I don't think I'd mind actually as long as I can have some visits with her alone."

"Really? That could be interesting... Though I think I should work on homework some more after dinner, I'm more behind than you are." Ginny sighed. Harry groaned as he worked on writing his essay.

"Alright." He glared at his paper. "Why do we do homework like this? In the muggle world we rarely wrote essays as homework... Instead we were given worksheets where we had to fill in the blank or solve the puzzle using the things we learned in class or give short answers or find what's wrong with the paragraph... ugh essays are just so much more work for the same amount of gain," he grumbled as he continued writing. Ginny stared at him in surprise but then she tilted her head.

"You know that would make sense... I remember the kinds of thing Mum always set us to work on when we were learning the basics... But it's not like we get much work now," she added. Harry nodded.

"I know, but I've hated essays since I started... Right now we're given essays that are supposed to be 12 inches in length at the least, which means at least two paragraphs. Each class is given at least one essay per week. Right now we both have 7 classes total, that means at least 7 essays a week. Not too bad, one essay per night on average. Next year I'm adding three classes, which means I'll have 10 essays a week. That means I'll have to spend time on more than one essay per night most nights. And the lengths increase as does the difficulty per year. And have you heard about the fifth and seventh year breakdowns? They get piled with so much work that they didn't even get a break when it came to Easter break. They just did homework the whole time or at least as far as I can tell. And the sixth years have as much work as the fifth years, just with less subjects but with a much higher difficulty. I mean sure the workload is actually light this year... but starting next year and especially OWL year... that's going to be torture," Harry ranted. "Besides, it's not like the teachers are going easy on us either, some assigning two essays per week, as well as reading chapters and practicing." Ginny stared at him in awe.

"You actually noticed all that?" she queried. He nodded.

"I did, I mean it's kind of hard not to notice the breakdowns and the complaints in the common room."

"Wow... I guess we'll just have to be as prepared as possible then..."

"Yeah... for now... our homework awaits." He made a face. They worked silently for a while.

"Potter, Weasley, what are you doing here?" a boy asked them, not sounding very happy. Harry looked up, and noted that they were three Slytherins from his year, but none had ever bothered him.

"Working on our homework," he replied coolly. "And taking advantage of the fact it's an isolated table and therefore people are less likely to stare at us. What are you doing here?"

"This is our table."

"Funny, I don't see your names anywhere. Though I suppose you're welcome to sit down if you can stand sharing a table with Gryffindors," Ginny fired back. Harry barely managed to keep from grinning. He liked this Ginny. All three looked taken aback by that statement. After a moment they slowly sat down, but mostly kept glancing at Harry.

"That's Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis. They're all in my year," Harry informed Ginny. He turned to the three Slytherins. "And this is Ginny Weasley, though judging by your greeting you already knew that."

They all nodded curtly and pulled out their homework. Harry went back to working on his essay, and was surprised that he was done writing this draft. And now he had to rewrite it. Probably at least twice more before it was legible without mistakes. He sighed and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment to get to it.

"Why do you hate Slytherins so much?" Daphne asked suddenly. Harry nearly spilled his inkwell but saved it just in time. He looked up at her.

"Why do you hate Gryffindors so much?" he retorted. They stared at him as if he was stupid.

"Because Gryffindors are bullies, they never leave us alone and always push us down!" Tracey burst out, gaining surprised looks from everyone at the table. Even non-Slytherins knew she barely spoke to anyone besides Daphne and Blaise.

"Not all Gryffindors are bullies," Harry commented quietly. "None of my year has come close to being that way besides Ron, and I can't think of any third years. In fourth year, Fred and George either target those who deserve it or just prank randomly, maybe they do target the Slytherins, but that's because it's more satisfying than any of the other three houses." They blinked at him in surprise. "And of those who do bully, it's because they think Slytherins get away with too much, most Gryffindors are too honorable to bully without a good reason, even though those good reasons don't justify bullying."

"Well, not all Slytherins are bad," Blaise pointed out after a minute of shock that Potter was so observant. Harry sighed.

"I'm trying to see that, but considering all my dealings with Slytherin since I got here... Hard to not hate Slytherin." Even Ginny stared at him, all looking curious but unsure of whether to pressure him or not. After a moment of internal debate, he decided on telling them because it wasn't necessarily anything he didn't want getting out.

"I didn't know anything about Hogwarts or even magic before I got my letter, I grew up with relatives who hated magic. The first time I heard of the houses was when I met Malfoy in the shop. He disgusted me with his attitude, and he brought in the houses, said he'd rather leave if he was in Hufflepuff. Makes me wonder how he would've reacted if he got into Gryffindor." He shook his head. "Anyways, I then asked Hagrid, who was the one escorting me, about the houses and he told me that people say there isn't a wizard who wasn't bad who came from Slytherin, and that people think Hufflepuffs are a load of duffers, I cut him off then, saying I was probably going to make Hufflepuff. Then I met Ron who quickly became my first friend. We were enjoying our snacks and candy when Malfoy appeared with Crabbe and Goyle. He barged in asking if I was Harry Potter, then said he could help me make better friends than Ron and when I turned him down said that if I weren't more careful, I'd go the same way as my parents." Ginny gasped while the three Slytherins reacted less obviously, but there was a slight widening of the eyes on each of them.

"So then there I was being sorted, and suddenly the Sorting Hat told me Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness, and seeing as Malfoy had already acted the role of the bully, actually similarly to the cousin I'd left behind, I wasn't keen on going there, so I went to Gryffindor." Ginny suddenly seemed a bit relieved.

"The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin too," she admitted. "But you know my family, and so do the Slytherins, and other than... Tom," she hesitated over mentioning the diary in any way, "it would've sucked for me. The hat did tell me he wanted to sort Percy and the twins into Slytherin though." The Slytherins seemed to have lost their grip on their masks, openly gaping. Harry patted her back before continuing.

"After that, Malfoy went out of his way to antagonize me and Ron, usually one of us until the other is dragged in. And he never gets in trouble for it. And you know how much Snape hates me," Harry finished. "So while I do want to believe that not all Slytherins are bad, none have stepped up before to convince me rather than alienate me." There was silence for a bit.

"Actually, Malfoy does get punished. Snape does punishes all of us in private, he keeps track of everything we do in class and outside it and then gives out punishments that night," Daphne spoke up. Now it was the Gryffindor's turn to be surprised.

"Yeah, he says we need to show a united front to the other houses since they'll tear us apart otherwise, so it's better to be punished in private then with all the other houses noticing," Blaise added. Harry looked between all three, torn between horror, amusement, and face-palming. Ginny was still gaping.

"Well, that's a stupid policy. All it does is make everyone else hate you guys more," Harry informed them. "By not punishing you publicly, it looks like he's taking your side and rewarding you for doing bad things, so of course the Gryffindors and even Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws resent you. You know how many times Malfoy has provoked Ron to fighting but only Ron got in trouble in public? That's only made Ron despise Malfoy and Snape even more than he already does. And the united front... seriously? That's isolating you from making any friends outside the house. And it makes you all look arrogant, even though we're barely even 13 if that."

"Well, Snape's a spy, he has to act that way," Tracey offered. "No one in Slytherin is sure if he's on the side of Dumbledore or You-Know-Who." Harry stared at her and the other two incredulously.

"Haven't you ever heard of unbiased teaching? In the muggle world, if any teacher acted the way he did, they'd at least be investigated, if not fired! It's not like he teaches anything other than how to follow instructions, and that's not how being a potions master works! I just found out for the first time the reaction table of ingredients, and explanations of methods, no one in Gryffindor has those books, and if they did, they found them on accident because no one told us they'd be necessary. At the least Dumbledore could force Snape to be fair and teach or he'd be fired, surely Snape could use that as an excuse for parents."

"Well the older students said that he switches ingredients on the board and assigns essays the way he does to weed out those who could be potions masters..." Blaise responded, uncertainly. Ginny spoke up.

"But how are they even supposed to know that something like that could happen if they didn't know ingredient reactions or study the recipe, it's impossible to memorize a potion just by staring at it, I've tried, and until Harry showed me this book he found, I never understood what we were doing. Besides, we're only first and second years right now, shouldn't he be saving that for fourth year at the earliest? Right now we really are supposed to be learning how to handle ingredients and follow the instructions, and basics of reactions. That's what the book advises in the introduction at least, spend lots of time just studying the ingredients and practicing preparation... but at the beginning of the year... We didn't learn anything about ingredient preparation, and don't say that most of you learned it at home. What about the muggleborns? What are they supposed to do?"

"I never thought of it like that," Daphne admitted. "I guess Snape is just trying to make up for some bullying he had as a student here, so he's trying to make it happen less..."

"But with his personality, I bet he probably earned a lot of that bullying or at least gave as good as he got," Blaise commented thoughtfully. "I mean, Gryffindors do tend to overreact and go too far, and some don't know the difference between funny and cruel, but like Potter pointed out, most of them are too noble to strike first. And I can really see how the bullying is bad... how we act is only making it worse... yet it's supposed to protect us, you saying we should give into bullying?" he challenged Harry, but more to see how he would react than truly believing that's what Harry meant. Harry sighed.

"No, I'm not. I'm saying that by from the moment you get sorted you act aloof and above everyone and never serve punishments, and if other professors punish you, Snape gets you off mostly unless it's really bad. If you tried to be friendly and talk, like you are now, then people may actually believe you're not just a slimy snake destined to be evil."

"Just because we're Slytherin doesn't mean we're evil..." Daphne groaned. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I know. I was nearly one of you remember? But I can see why people believe that. Compare traits of the houses. Gryffindors are chivalrous, noble, and brave. That's almost always the opposite of evil, of course there's probably the odd one who goes evil every once in a while, but that's rare. They're more likely to be bullies and arrogant than truly evil like Voldemort. Then there's Hufflepuffs. They're loyal and hardworking. Evil people generally don't serve anyone but themselves so they have no room for loyalty, though being hardworking can be useful for evil, which is why slightly more bad people come out of Hufflepuff. And Ravenclaws have a thirst for knowledge, which means that they're somewhat likely to become evil because in the pursuit of knowledge they could easily ignore what it cost to gain the knowledge. Then there's Slytherin. Cunning, sly, and ambitious. That's generally exactly what every evil person is. Ambition is the trait that is the easiest to turn to evil. Because ambition to be the best could turn to hurting other people to prove it. Ambition could mean they take out opponents by hiring assassins or something so they can become the next minister. Of all the house traits, that's the one that leads to evil the most and the easiest. That's why Slytherins turn out the most bad people, and since most of the obvious bad people came from Slytherin... of course people have a prejudice against it. So really, you guys have it really hard because you have to make yourself seem like a normal friendly person like the rest of us but you have to battle your ambition if you have it, and sure everyone has ambition, Percy Weasley has quite a bit for a Gryffindor, so he could go bad if he isn't careful, but he's an exception to Gryffindors rather than the rule Slytherins have." The three Slytherins seemed subdued.

"We hadn't thought of it like that, and you are most certainly correct," Daphne mused. "And I think the problem on our part is that we let our ambition get in the way, thinking that we'll do the best in school if we act the way Snape says, and we also forget that we're only kids and so are the other students." Blaise nodded.

"We're already trying to act like we're out of school already and that isolates us... and yet many of us wouldn't mind having friends rather than allies," Blaise added. Harry and Ginny shared a look.

"You could be our friend if you'd like," Ginny offered. All three Slytherins stare.

"What?" Harry inquired. "You haven't insulted us. You listened to us and offered your thoughts, and there's no bloodshed. We're pretty much acting like friends right now." The other four at the table snickered a little at his description.

"I suppose..." Daphne began hesitantly, "but don't expect us to trust you immediately."

"Of course not," Ginny answered. "Not after what happened this year." Harry nodded in agreement. And with that, they returned to working on their homework, occasionally asking each other for help on some part of their essays.

* * *

><p>Hermione sighed to herself as she walked the corridors of Hogwarts. Ron had been more concerned with eating breakfast than looking for Harry. Like he had been recently, only room in his brain for chess, quidditch, food, and protecting Ginny. But she was worried. He didn't seem to be getting much sleep these days and he refused to talk to them about it. He was barely even eating at most meals. She even looked up information to help him and he didn't listen. She didn't know what to do.<p>

She walked into the library and looked around. She wasn't expecting to find him. She always had to drag him and Ron to the library, so it'd be weird if he was there. She glanced around again, resisting the urge to browse books. And then she saw him. With Ginny. And three Slytherins. She gasped and ducked behind a bookshelf, heart pounding. What were they doing? How could Harry and Ginny talk to Slytherins, who took every opportunity to mock her?

The Gryffindor bookworm breathed deeply as she tried to calm down. Something must've deeply affected Harry and Ginny down in the Chamber, and that's why they were talking to the Slytherins. Those snakes were probably trying to take advantage of the two being vulnerable. Or, the traitorous part of her mind whispered, they turned dark, evil from what happened. She couldn't confront them alone. She left the library and headed for the Great Hall. There she found Ron, who was winding down on eating.

"Ron... Harry and Ginny are in the library. Talking to Zabini, Greengrass and Davis. They're Slytherins in our year."

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><p><strong>An Can't believe I made it so long.**

**But I am going to keep working on this. It just doesn't have as high a priority as my Fairy Tail fanfiction. Like that fanfictions, I'm taking several cliches aka common plots, and making them my own. But I'm not going to reveal what they are just yet. What's the fun in that?**

**And NO. I am NOT intentionally bashing Ron and Hermione. I am writing them as I see 13 year old them (remember Hermione's 13th was in September of second year, and Ron March of second year, so at this point those two are 13). It's not bashing because bashing according to fanlore is as follows: Character bashing occurs when fans are hostile to a particular character and express their dislike through fanfiction, icons, and other fan activities. Any character may be bashed, from the hero to the new addition to a recurring character.**

**Bashing may be done in fanfic by depicting the character as a terrible person, such as making them extremely dogmatic or cruel when dealing with the author's ****woobie****, sometimes to the point of being physically abusive; or having them otherwise fulfill the potentially ****OOC**** role of the villain. The bashed character may also be subjected to blackly comedic ****deathfics****, derogatory nicknames and epithets, and other expressions of hate. Discussion of character-bashing frequently straddles the line between ****wank**** and ****unfunnybusiness****, as deep emotional attachment to characters is a core element of fanning, and many fans will take offense at what they see as undeserved bashing.**

**I'm not planning on doing any of those things. They will not be made fun of or made out to be a terrible person... okay maybe a terrible friend, but I'm not sure about terrible person, they are only 13 right now anyways. **

**Ron is lazy and self absorbed. He does have a heart of gold, but it's hidden by his jealousy and him basically not understanding any hardship unless it involves having siblings and no money. He's also rather smart, and when given incentive, will master spells quite quickly. The troll is a good example. He had no luck with the spell in class, and I bet there's a reason they use feathers in their first class, yet his first casting has him use it on a troll's club. But he's really only holding Harry back. Yes, he's 13. We can't expect him to be perfect. But that doesn't mean that he's the kind of friend Harry needs. **

**Hermione takes books as fact. She doesn't realize that in non-fiction there is bias, and that there are more than one ways to do things. Take her freaking out at Harry for not following the potion instructions in 6th year, for example. If she was truly good at potions, she'd know that there were ways to improve the recipe, and possibly even do them herself. Instead, she doggedly follows the instructions even when they don't get her the best results. She's very bossy, especially in books 1 and 2. She assumes she knows best without listening to other sources, with the house elves, with Harry's broom (she could've at least tried to talk to Harry and beyond commenting that it could be dangerous, she doesn't, she goes straight to McGonagall. And Harry hadn't even used it yet, and I think he would've been leery of using it himself. It's always seemed to me that he was angry because she didn't talk to him rather than losing his broom), schoolwork... Her way is not the only way. I was more of a Harry in school, and yet I graduated high school with a 3.7 average. So she doesn't need to be high and mighty. Sad thing is, I'm using more examples from later on in the series than from where I picked up. Either way, she's not the sort of friend Harry needs either. Especially once he starts working on studying on his own and picks up nearly as much knowledge as her. And he now has McGonagall to help guide his decisions and help him learn. So with that aspect of her friendship gone, where does that leave her? Sure it's always good when they're on adventures, but she was petrified during the most recent. And while she would be a big help with her looking up things about guilt and nightmares and all that, she's shoving it down Harry's throat rather than truly helping him.**

**If I am actually bashing them, I'm sorry. But they will grow up. It's just going to take a while.**


	2. 2: Pain, Pranks, and Revelations

**A/n Well it's at 9000 words before I add these authors notes, so that's a decent length. This chapter really got away with me, there were more scenes planned to be added, but in the end, some of these scenes grew unexpectedly, leaving me with no choice but to cut it off where I did. Especially since I wanted to get this out before NaNoWriMo started. Which I obviously failed out seeing as it's the afternoon of November first. Oh well. It's still finished, I'm just about to give it the final edit before posting it. I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Harry and Ginny packed up their stuff after the lunch bell rang. There was really no good time to go to lunch during the weekends, it was packed no matter what time it was. Students just liked to hang out there and talk loudly for most of the time. Harry felt uncomfortable about it, but he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted lunch, and since it was nearly time to return to the Dursleys, he had to eat as much as he could.<p>

Ginny also felt uncomfortable with staring eyes, and she was much less used to it. She did feel better with Harry at her side however. The three Slytherins joined them silently, having enjoyed the time studying, and not feeling like doing more homework for now. They walked close enough together to look like they were with Harry and Ginny, but also far enough away it could be a coincidence.

Of course, Hermione and Ron believed they were with Harry and Ginny, even when the two groups separated to go to their own house tables. And they were right, but that wasn't a good thing in this case. Hermione kicked Ron when he was about to open his big mouth to say something to Harry and Ginny.

"Not here," she hissed at him. "We don't want to cause a scene." She was worried about possibly being wrong, and didn't want others to witness it. With that being a slim chance though, the real reason was that it was better to try and nip it in the bud and keep it under wraps than broadcast it to the whole school.

"Hey Ron, Hermione," Harry greeted cheerfully as he sat across from them. Ginny hesitated before sitting down next to him. She didn't really feel comfortable sitting with anyone else, and it was better than sitting alone.

"Hey Harry," Hermione responded cautiously, a bit surprised at how chipper he was. A big contrast compared to the day before. After a moment she started reading a book on dealing with PTSD because otherwise she would start commenting on their behavior and that was against the plan. Ron was sufficiently distracted by the food, they hadn't been in the Great Hall long before Harry and Ginny arrived.

Harry quickly started to fill his plate and then passed the dishes on to Ginny, making sure she ate. She didn't seem to notice at first. Then she started returning the favor and it became a game of they had to take at least one portion of each dish, no matter how disgusting it looked. They started snickering to each other as they tried dishes they normally wouldn't try. Some were good, but others not so much. This resulted in them eating until they were truly full for once. Ron and Hermione didn't really notice that they were eating more than usual, too absorbed in their own tasks of keeping silent and eating, and in Hermione's case, reading.

When they were done, Harry looked at Ginny and noticed that she was starting to shrink in on herself as she glanced around. He checked the surrounding area and sighed. It seemed he was more used to staring than he realized; he hadn't noticed that so many people were staring at them. It was time to go before Ginny could mentally retreat any more or break down. He knew that feeling; normally he mentally retreated, giving him a vacant look and making him seem stupid, but it was better than breaking down... As a girl, Ginny wouldn't have so much of a reason not to cry in public, but he figured she was tough enough with her brothers that she probably wouldn't want to.

"Let's go," he told her softly as he stood up, collecting his bag. She nodded with relief. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione scrambling to follow but figured they'd missed him in the morning and didn't want to have to search for him again. As the four left the Great Hall, they missed the red-haired twins exchanging looks of relief that their sister didn't seem quite so ghostly as before.

They walked through the halls of Hogwarts, not really talking about much. Harry didn't notice the unusual behavior of his friends, since the silence suited him and he was keeping an eye on Ginny. Ron was silent, glaring at Ginny and Harry, the former more so. Hermione kept watch for a classroom they could use to talk, one that was private and meant there was less of a chance of eavesdroppers. They didn't need this getting all over the school. Finally, she spotted one.

"Harry?" the bushy haired girl asked nervously, "can we talk?" Harry sighed, expecting another lecture on PTSD or something, and this time with Ginny involved. The younger girl shouldn't have to go through one of those, but from the look on Hermione's face, they had no choice.

"Alright," he agreed reluctantly and followed her into the room. Ginny sat down on a desk quickly, looking around nervously. Harry followed and sat down on the desk one over. Ron settled for sitting on the teacher's desk while Hermione stood, fidgeting.

"Where were you this morning?" she questioned, to see if they'd be honest. Ron glowered at Harry and Ginny with his arms crossed. Ginny wondered what was up with him. Harry stared at Hermione in surprise before shrugging.

"Studying in the library with Ginny," he responded truthfully, and not sure how'd they react to him mentioning the Slytherin trio. He didn't have to wonder long.

"And studying with slimy Slytherins!" Ron burst out, unable to take it anymore. "How could you be with those evil gits?" Harry gaped at him before the shock faded to be replaced with red hot anger. The boy pushed his temper back. He didn't like showing his temper to his friends.

"Is there something wrong with that Ronald? They're not evil," Ginny added coolly, crossing her arms and leveling her own glare at her brother.

"Yes, they are! Everyone says so! Slytherins are nothing but slimy evil gits who'll grow up to be like You-Know-Who." Ron gestured wildly with his arms, trying to get his point across. "Just look at Malfoy!" Harry sighed and took a calming breath.

"They're our age right now, still second years like us. We don't even know what we're going to be when we grow up, how do we know they'll be evil. And not every Slytherin is like Malfoy," the black-haired boy attempted to explain to his muleheaded friend. Ron got support from an unexpected source, the normally logical Hermione.

"They always bully us, call us names, taunt us, even try to hex us!" she exclaimed, looking rather upset. Harry pushed up his glasses and then ran his hand through his hair, they'd have to tread carefully with her like this.

"Not all of them. Not the three we were with," Ginny spoke up earnestly. Ron ignored how much she was actually acting like herself for the first time since the previous summer because he was too mad about the Slytherins. Besides, he would never make the connection between Harry and her being herself again.

"Yeah right, all Slytherins are the same, just want to see us fail and laugh at us and some day take over the world!"

"Ron, you're exaggerating a little," Hermione remarked before sighing. "But he does have a point, they're probably just using you, you know since you're both so vulnerable right now." Harry gawked, unable to believe her audacity to even think that let alone say it. Ginny started trembling beside him. He rested his hand on her leg, not sure what else to do to help her.

"Actually, we had a very cordial discussion about the state of potions class," he replied firmly. "And they agreed with us, not the other way around."

"That's unlikely..." Hermione started then her eyes widened. "I bet they want to turn you dark too! After all a Boy-Who-Lived that was on their side would be great for them!" Harry let his jaw hang open briefly before he regained control and glared at her.

"No, that's not what they're after. Zabini, Davies, and Greengrass are all neutral, not dark. Look can we just drop it?" he suggested tiredly, seeing that none of them were going to back down. He hated arguing with them.

"For now." Hermione's tone promised the topic would be brought up again. Ron noticed Harry's hand still on Ginny's leg.

"Why were you with my little sister anyways?" he asked, trying to look menacing from his perch on the teacher's desk. Harry could tell Ginny was getting angry.

"Because she's my friend," he answered simply and quickly before she could explode. She relaxed and stared at him, a slow, disbelieving smile spreading on her face. It was still sinking in for her that he meant it. Ron and Hermione now gaped, neither seeming very happy about it.

"But what about us?" Hermione queried quietly. Harry blinked, wondering where that came from.

"You're my friends too of course. But I can have more than just you two as my friends. And you're still my best friends," he added, though he was beginning to wonder if they actually were good friends. They were worried about him being corrupted by Slytherins, he reminded himself. They were worried. That had to count for something... right?

"But that's my sister!" Ron cried in outrage, jumping off of the desk. "She can't be trusted and she's too whiny and she'll just get in the way! Look what happened this year with that dumb diary!" The red haired boy truly believed that. And he didn't want her to steal the one thing he could say above his brothers-that he was friends with Harry Potter. It wouldn't mean as much with her friends with him. Harry couldn't muster the words to respond; he was too shocked. Ginny started shaking with suppressed tears.

"He could be right..." Hermione began slowly. "She is a year below us, and she could barely be around you before, how do you know she doesn't just see you as the Boy-Who-Lived? And she's still recovering from her ordeal, and I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around to remind her of it, and well, Ron is right, she would get in the way a lot, she is an annoying sibling after all to him. And... She probably can't be trusted because of the diary, like Ron said. If she'd just been smart and shown someone, it wouldn't have happened, she's too immature and young to be our friend."

"SHE is right here!" Ginny yelled through tears before racing out of the room. Harry glared at his two friends and unleashed his temper.

"How could you say those things? Either of you! I thought you had sense Hermione!" He barely restrained from yelling, his voice a bit louder, and clearly displaying his anger.

"But..." Hermione tried to interject, but Harry cut her off as he strode up to them and crossed his arms.

"NO! Those are NOT things you say about family, ESPECIALLY in front of them! Like you said, she's still recovering! Did either of you know she has nightmares?" They exchanged looks and shook their heads. "Well she does. And so do I. I helped her out this morning after her nightmare. It's BECAUSE I rescued her that I was able to comfort her! I may remind her of what happened but I'm the reason she's still alive! And I'm not staying away from her, she needs friends to help her through this, not overprotective brothers who don't actually care about her feelings. And she's not a baby any more! She's only a year younger than me, which means she's not too young to be our friend, and I don't think age matters in friendship anyways, Hagrid is our friend after all," Harry ranted loudly at his gaping friends. He took a deep breath before continuing on.

"Why is this such a problem? I thought you'd be happy I was looking out for her Ron, and I thought you'd be happy I was helping her through her traumatic experience and nightmares, Hermione!" He glared fiercely at them. "It's like you don't want me to be her friend at... all..." he trailed off upon seeing their guilty faces; neither were very good at hiding their feelings, Hermione only marginally better, but the way they hung their heads gave it away. He exploded. "I can't believe you two! It's not up to you to dictate who I'm friends with! After everything we've been through we need more friends! I'm only 12! We shouldn't be doing crazy things on our own at least if we had more friends we'd be more likely to survive than just with plain luck! And Ginny is struggling with her schoolwork with no one even caring! So I'm going to help her." Hermione scoffed.

"Like you could help her when you struggle through classes." She puffed up. "I should help her." Both Ron and Hermione had serious tact and maturity issues.

"I only struggle in classes compared to you, and because I was holding back!" He hesitated, he hadn't meant to reveal it, but he was on a roll and the looks on their faces were worth it. "I didn't want to lose either of you as friends." He looked at Ron. "You complained from day one about Hermione being smart so I didn't want you to hate me for getting good grades." Then he turned to Hermione. "And you hate it when anyone beats you in class! Of course I wasn't going to perform my best when I thought I could lose you two! And I helped her just fine with potions and charms this morning," he added proudly. "She was able to finish her charms essay and understand potions better. Now we've gotten off topic," he remarked calmly, still angry but now in much more control now that he'd worked off some steam. "What you said to her was uncalled for. Even if you actually believe the stuff you spewed, she ran out of here in tears. You made her cry. I think you're the ones that are being selfish, not her. Now excuse me, I need to make sure she's okay." He turned away from them in disgust and picked up his bag as well as Ginny's, she'd left it behind. Ron and Hermione were left feeling off balance, confused, and hurt as he left.

Harry however didn't care how they felt; he was frantically trying to find Ginny. He walked down the hall, checking every classroom until... he was pushed into one. He jumped and spun around. Then he sighed.

"Oh, it's just you two." He tried to get by them. The two red-heads looked offended.

"What do you-" one started enthusiastically, a wounded expression on his face as he put an arm around Harry.

"Mean, just us," the other continued, though he didn't seem quite as into it as his brother when he put his arm around Harry as well.

"Two?" they finished together. Harry groaned in frustration; the twins were good for a laugh, but sometimes they made getting anything done difficult. Especially when it was important.

"Ron and Hermione chose to be idiots and now I need to find Ginny to be sure she's okay," he told them firmly, trying to get away. They went uncharacteristically serious.

"What do you mean?" the twin on his left who hadn't been as enthusiastic questioned, sounding worried.

"We'll prank them good if they made her cry," the other promised, sounding angry. Harry blinked, and then realized that they were the ones of the family who must know Ginny the best seeing as they left her alone, but they were still protective and loved their sister.

"I became friends with Ginny this morning..." he began hesitantly, "and while Ron and Hermione think that Ginny should be making friends to help her recover, they don't think it should be me or them." He made a face. "They even went so far as to say she couldn't be trusted and insinuated she was stupid for writing in the diary. And yes, they did make her cry, and I need to find her before she thinks I agree with them. I already took too long arguing with them," he explained urgently. The twins exchanged looks before pulling out an old piece of parchment. Harry noted that they did seem to have different personalities. One forcing himself to play along with the identical twin thing, the other believing it. Or maybe that was just his imagination. He was terrible at reading people sometimes after all.

"You can't tell anyone well maybe Ginny," the twin who believed they were identical began.

"George and I found this," Fred picked up easily, this time not seeming to care about the twinspeak. When they weren't causing mischief, it came naturally, and in cases like this, he didn't really mind.

"In Filch's office," George continued. Harry wasn't entirely certain if Fred had been joking when he said the other was George, but figured this was too serious for him to joke about who was who.

"Please get to the point," the younger boy begged.

"Oh, fine..." Fred sighed.

"You just have to get the full story tonight," George promised. Harry just raised an eyebrow. The twins put their wands to the parchment, and then spoke in unison.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Harry gasped when the parchment came to life, ink spreading, beginning with the words 'Padfood, Moony, Wormtail, and Prongs proudly present the Marauder's map.' Harry watched as the parchment unfolded, showing layers of parchment he was certain wasn't there before.

"It shows everyone in the castle," Fred began.

"Who they are," the other twin followed.

"Where they are."

"It even sees through magical disguises."

"We owe everything to them," Fred finished in awe of their idols. Harry practically ripped it from their hands and began looking for Ginny. He found her in a girls bathroom, ironically the one Hermione had been trapped in first year. He checked that no one was in there, and to his relief, there was no one. Hopefully that would change by the time he got there.

"Thanks guys! Prank Ron and Hermione if you want, but Ginny and I are off limits!" he told them excitedly, not even thinking twice about what he said as he dashed off. The twins looked at each other.

"Well Gred," George started, using their nicknames. Fred suppressed an eyeroll; he was getting tired of being identical and taking advantage of that.

"Yes, Forge?" he played along, mostly out of habit.

"It seems our sister is in good hands."

"For once," Fred added darkly. None of them had done a good job looking after her this year. But they were making up for it at least, Ron and Percy were being prats about it. Even though Fred was feeling a bit annoyed about his twin's attitude toward life and well everything else, particularly their identities, they both were in agreement about making it up to their sister. And they would start by pranking two thirds of the Golden Trio. As planning started, they realized they needed more details of what the two said and did to appropriately punish them.

* * *

><p>Ginny sobbed to herself as she leaned against the wall of the stall. Why did her brother have to be so mean? And Hermione... Hermione supported him! It hurt so much... Wait... if Hermione agreed with him, then that meant that... that... he was right. She slumped and sank to the floor, still crying softly. Harry would never want to speak to her again. She was once again the little sister.<p>

The door opened loudly and she heard panting. She tensed and stilled, wiping her tears away. She hated crying, especially in front of other people. She'd chosen this bathroom because it wasn't often used during the weekends... just her luck that someone would burst in... Hopefully they wouldn't discover her...

"Ginny?" the person asked tentatively.

She gasped. It was Harry. He'd braved the girls bathroom for her. She'd heard him only a few days ago declaring that he'd avoid girls bathrooms from now on... And yet here he was... in one... Looking for her.

"I heard that..." he commented uncertainly. "Ginny, if that's you... The only reason I wasn't here sooner is I lost my temper. Ron and Hermione were being prats. I'd rather have you as a friend than them..." he rambled, hoping that she would come out. It worked.

Ginny stood up and opened the door. He half smiled at her, which she found cute, but she was still so upset that she didn't really care. She rubbed at her eyes trying to hide that she was crying.

"It's okay," he told her softly. "It's okay to cry when you're upset..." He spread his arms, feeling awkward, but he knew she most likely needed comfort, and from what he knew, hugs equalled comfort sometimes. She hesitated, and then threw herself in his arms, holding back tears. He just held her, not sure what to do or say, but before long found himself rubbing her back as she calmed down enough for them to go to a classroom.

They spent most of the afternoon quietly discussing what Ron and Hermione said, with Harry vehemently denying any of it was true.

After a while, Fred and George cornered them for information for the prank, and finally came up with an idea on what to do. Harry liked part of the prank and asked for some of the potion.

"Why?" Fred asked suspiciously. He received a surprisingly innocent look from Harry.

"You'll see," was all the younger boy said.

"Ah a true prankster, one who never reveals the details before it happens," George proclaimed happily.

"What does that make you for revealing most of the prank to us?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"Oh, that's a special case, we always allow those we're getting revenge for to know most of the details so that we know for sure they approve of our methods," George explained loftily. Fred was too busy making sure the potion they'd started brewing was going well to participate in twinspeak. And so the conspiracy continued.

Before dinner, Fred and George handed Ginny and Harry two bottles of the potions, telling them that it really only took a few drops to work, but they preferred to be sure and add more. It also tended to prolong the effect a little longer. Harry and Ginny smirked at each other as they ran up to the dorms. They remained secretive until dinner, where they chose to sit by Neville, both barely able to contain their excitement.

Finally, half way through dinner, there was a loud pop and everyone looked to see who was pranked this time. No one expected (besides the pranksters of course) the sight that greeted them. Hermione was completely silver, hair, skin, and clothes, with a magical sign above her. The sign read 'I'm a self righteous prat who thinks she knows everything about everyone and can butt her nose in everyone's business.' The first few words were large so that people could see them from a distance.

Ron was completely green the way Hermione was silver. His sign read 'I'm a overprotective immature prat who is too lazy to do his own work and is jealous of anyone with anything he doesn't have.' Again, the first few words were large enough for people to read.

During the chaos of Ron and Hermione yelling about being pranked, people trying to read their signs, and laughter, Ginny slipped on Harry's invisibility cloak and made her way to where the twins were sitting a few seats down, watching the show.

"Please don't say anything," Harry whispered to Neville. The boy looked surprised to be trusted to keep it a secret, rather than being ordered to. Harry smiled at him, and resolved to make friends with the shy boy now that he wasn't sure he had Ron and Hermione anymore. Ginny reappeared, looking smug. They, and many Gryffindors, returned to eating.

Finally, the chaos died down. No points were taken, because as usual, while everyone knew that the twins had done it, they had left no proof. That didn't stop McGonagall from eyeing the twins, though secretly the professor wondered what Ron and Hermione had done that warranted a prank. Judging by how Harry and Ginny were not sitting with them, probably a problem there. She sighed. Maybe Harry would talk to her about it tonight after dinner. She smiled slightly to herself as she went back to eating.

Hermione was nearly in tears, and now that the crowd had died down (the teachers unable to control it), was ready to run out of the Great Hall. Then Ron dragged her to Harry and Ginny, spitting mad.

"Why'd you set the twins on us!" he yelled. "Look Hermione is crying!"

"It's humiliating," she sobbed. Harry felt bad for her, and decided to speak up, glad that their planned script was flexible.

"We didn't ask the twins to do the signs," he told them honestly. "And does it not matter that you made your own sister cry earlier?" he added quietly.

"That's different!" Ron exclaimed. "It wasn't public!" He chose to pretend that he hadn't wanted to make it public originally.

"Well this is just a prank," Ginny chimed in calmly, now a bit annoyed at her brother's attitude, but hiding it.

"It's a cruel one," Hermione whispered, tears still running down her green face. Harry sighed.

"I admit, the signs are a bit cruel, even if they hold an element of truth. But the green and silver? That's not humiliating. A rule of thumb for pranking. If you can't laugh at yourself when pranked that way, then don't prank someone else that way," he explained casually.

Half the Great Hall heard him and then passed it onto other people. Harry inwardly was very nervous about this, but he did kind of want to prank people. Besides, it was the perfect set up for later. He returned to eating, and drank from his glass at the same time Ginny did. Instantly, he turned silver as Ginny turned green, though since Ginny and he had only used the potions, they didn't have signs. They glanced at each other and couldn't help but laugh while everyone else in the hall gaped.

"See? It's funny," Ginny gasped. What made even more so was the looks on everyone's faces. Percy, who'd been coming over to break up the ruckus, paused when he saw her so happy. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to leave it for now.

"That, Gred, was a well pulled prank," George commented to his twin.

"An effective way to use such potions," Fred agreed, grinning. They toasted each other and drank. Only to look at each other in horror. Fred had turned green while his twin had turned silver.

Ron stormed out of the Great Hall, seeing as no one cared. Hermione followed, slowly, thinking a bit. Harry did have a point after all about the pranks, and they clearly enjoyed being different colors... She looked at her silver hand. It wasn't that bad actually. She smiled, the twins had done worse. Then she looked up and saw the sign still following her to the dormitory and held back tears, thinking of what Harry said. The words weren't true... right? She shook her head and put it out of her mind.

Meanwhile, the twins turned in unison to see Harry and Ginny falling over laughing at them. The twins sighed and walked over to the new pranking duo.

"It seems that," George started things off, as usual.

"We have-"

"Underestimated-"

"Both of you."

"Well played, well played," they spoke in unison, chuckling to themselves as they sat down to eat again.

At the head table, Snape dropped his fork, having lost his appetite. Potter had learned to prank. This would not bode well for the rest of his school career. Snape left rather abruptly. McGonagall pursed her lips tightly to keep from laughing at both the prank and Severus' reactions. He was rather immature that one. Now she really looked forward to her meeting with Harry, what with both him and Ginny pulling that prank on the twins.

* * *

><p>Harry entered McGonagall's office, still grinning, and still silver all over. He'd never had so much fun before. Some had told him and Ginny they were nuts for willingly pranking themselves, others admired such a bold move. And the twins had even admitted that they had a good philosophy on pranks and whether or not they were cruel or not and promised to be more careful with them. A good way to dispel last of the lingering hurt, anger, and sadness over what had happened earlier. And Harry's day was about to get better. He was going to learn about parents.<p>

"Hello professor," he greeted her and sat down at the chair in front of her desk. She shook her head and lead him to the comfortable chairs at the side of the room. They rarely got used, and were close enough that she could put her arm around him if need be.

"Hello Harry, I see you enjoyed dinner. Commendable work getting one over on the Weasley twins." She gave him a rare smile. "Five points to Gryffindor for proving that not even experts are invincible, and for giving us a good perspective on pranking." Harry lit up.

"Really professor? You're not mad?" he asked eagerly. She suppressed a laugh, that expression coupled with the fact that he was still silver was rather amusing.

"No, I'm not. Despite popular belief, I don't mind a good prank as long as I can't catch the perpetrators. But don't spread it around, except to Ginny since it seems you conspired together."

"I... wow thanks professor." Harry stared at her in awe. She smiled at him again.

"I am however curious as to what Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger had done," she stated.

Harry scowled at the memory and launched into an explanation that had a fair amount of venting his anger. He ended with recruiting Fred and George and helping them figure out how to prank Ron and Hermione. He wore a proud smile about how he and Ginny had handled the pranks. Minerva shook her head in amusement.

"You remind me of your father right now, he was my godson you know. Called me Aunt Minnie. Regretfully I have not been a part of your life thus far, but I would like to be. Had your parents not died, and Dumbledore not decided you had to live with the Dursleys, you would have grown up calling me Aunt Minnie or Aunt Minerva, so I would like to give you permission to do so when we're in private," she offered tentatively. She didn't know if he was going to be mad she never said anything, or if he would be happy. Apparently he wasn't as jaded as she feared yet. His eyes widened, and glistened with tears.

"You'd allow that? You were his godmother?" he questioned rapidly. She nodded, smiling again.

"Of course I'd allow you to call me that, and yes, I was," she responded gently. Harry suddenly realized something else she'd said.

"I remind you of my dad? Why?" he queried curiously. She smiled at him gently.

"He was a huge prankster as well. Though, unlike you, he didn't know the difference between cruel and funny, he could've used your idea of whether or not a prank should be used. He wasn't the best person because of that, though he was close with his friends. They called him Prongs." As she watched Harry soak up the information about his father, her heart twinged with phantom pain. How could no one have told him about his parents? Just the little bit she told him made him light up like a five year old being given an extra treat. Then he paused.

"Wait, Prongs as in Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail and Prongs?" he asked suddenly. McGonagall stared at him.

"Where did you hear those names?" she queried. Harry stiffened and looked away, unsure of if he was in trouble.

"Fred and George..." he answered slowly.

"Why am I not surprised." Minerva sighed. "Let me guess, a map?" At Harry's astonished face, she chuckled. "I'm not blind, Harry. They're good at hiding it, and I'd rather not explain to them why I know the password. I caught the one nicknamed Moony using it once, and let him keep it with the promise they wouldn't use it to bully anyone," she explained. "At that point though your father and his friends had all matured enough that it wasn't much of a problem anymore." Harry filed information about the bullying away for another time, he was much more interested in another tidbit.

"Who's Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail? Why couldn't they take me in?" he inquired softly. Minerva winced.

"That's a story Professor Dumbledore would have me wait to tell you, but I think you should know now," she started gently, arm around him. He felt immensely grateful that she felt he could handle it. He hated being left in the dark. And it sounded pretty important.

"Your father was Prongs, as I already mentioned. His best friends were Remus Lupin, who they called Moony, Peter Pettigrew, who they called Wormtail, and Sirius Black who's nickname was Padfoot. As for why they couldn't take you in... Sirius Black betrayed your parents Harry, and he murdered Peter along with 13 muggles. Remus was overcome with grief, and he also had a problem that meant that the Ministry would never allow him to take you in." Harry stared at her, unable to believe what she just told him.

"If Remus cared about me, why hasn't he contacted me?" he asked softly, the first question that came to mind. Minerva frowned.

"I don't know, he hasn't contacted me in years, but it is unusual that he wouldn't contact you... I will write him a letter, and if you want, you can send one along with it asking him yourself," she suggested. Harry hesitated and then nodded.

"I'd like that," he decided. "But why did Sirius Black betray my parents? How did he?" Minerva sighed and pulled him closer. Harry chose not to protest though he was rather taken aback by the action.

"S-Black was close friends with your father, even closer than the other two. He was your godfather actually." Harry stared, wide-eyed. "There is a charm called the Fidelius charm. It takes a decent amount of power to cast, which both your parents had. The charm is used to hide places, it can be modified to hide secrets too, but it's mostly used regarding where places are located. Your mother researched it extensively before agreeing to use it... Now the charm involves a person living at the address, the secret keeper, and the caster. The secret keeper is the only one able to give out the address, anyone else can have the address but cannot give it out to anyone, not even when someone searches their mind or gives them a truth serum. Are you with me so far?"

Harry nodded, mind whirling. So many questions had already popped up. Minerva continued.

"Now, many would argue that it would have been best if James or Lily themselves were secret keeper, however, the spell is based on trust. The secret keeper cannot live at the place for more than two weeks at a time with long breaks in between without the spell breaking, because for the secret keeper to be living at the house, it must mean that the owners don't trust the person to be outside the house with the secret, so the spell loses its power. Not many people know of that, but then again, most people don't choose to use the spell anyways as it is rather complicated and makes it hard to host dinners." She stopped and looked at Harry to see how he was taking it so far.

"You said Sirius Black," he began, saying just Black felt wrong for some reason, "betrayed my parents to Voldemort... was he secret keeper? He was my godfather, why would he do that?" He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Minerva smiled at him sadly.

"No one knows, though it's believed that despite being sorted into Gryffindor, he was as rotten as the rest of his family barring Andromeda Tonks. But yes, he did betray your parents to You-Know-Who before going after Peter, who stood up to him before being murdered with a blasting curse. The only thing they found of him was a finger." Harry felt a bit sick at that but he still had more questions so he pushed it aside.

"But he was my godfather... D-didn't he care for me?" Harry hated how weak and childlike his voice sounded but plowed on. "Why would they only find a finger, wouldn't there have been more pieces laying around or something?" He wasn't confident of that assessment but it did sound kind of fishy to him. Minerva pursed her lips.

"Black was certainly a good actor, around everyone he doted on you. No one suspected him of being a spy or murderer until he betrayed your parents. Peter was more likely." She froze and then took a deep breath before continuing, not wanting to dwell on the thought at the moment. "I don't know why he did that. No one does. As for why there weren't more pieces of poor Peter, I don't know. No one really knows the details of it except the aurors. Magical police," she added at his confused look. Then he frowned.

"I want to know why he did it if he was so close to my parents and my godfather. Why did he... why did he send Voldemort after us if he knew we were going to die? Why go through all the trouble? Why..." He choked up and then mumbled to himself, "why does everyone who's supposed to care about me hate me?" He didn't know that McGonagall had sharp ears because of being an animgaus. She barely restrained from growling.

"What do you mean everyone hates you?" she asked him quietly. Harry jumped at looked down.

"Nothing... I... nothing," he responded hastily. She gently lifted his head to look at him.

"It is not nothing. Despite my actions or possibly lack of action, I do not hate you, I care for you quite a lot," she informed him softly. His face took on an awed and shocked look.

"Really?" he asked, forgetting all about the previous conversation for now. She smiled softly at him.

"Truly. Now if you'd like, we can talk about times when I didn't show that, alright? I want to know your side of the story. Starting with when you were in first year and I took all those points from you." She frowned. "I don't know what I was thinking, I only docked Mr. Malfoy twenty, then I went and docked you each fifty..." She left it at that though part of it was that she was docking them for tricking Neville, in which case she should have only docked him twenty points. Mainly she'd been hoping to curb Harry bullying but she wasn't sure that was the case and she'd been horrified at how the Gryffindors treated Harry. But since she didn't normally lecture her lions, a lecture about that wouldn't have been well received and seen as him getting preferential treatment. So she staged a conversation which Fred and George heard causing them to take it down a notch and keep the other Gryffindors from doing much more than giving the three first years the cold shoulder. She returned her attention to the present and the boy wringing his hands.

"No one will get in trouble now, will they?" Harry asked softly.

"It's too late for punishments though depending on what you say a lecture may be in order." Minerva watched as he struggled with the decision, but it seemed he must have been wanting to tell his side of the story because that's what he did.

"Well... we discovered that Hagrid had a dragon egg and we tried to get him to send it away or something but he was enamored with it and convinced he could take care of it... When it hatched, he named it Norbert, and it grew really fast. I remembered then that Ron's brother worked with dragons so we arranged for him to come get Norbert, though Ron couldn't come that night... and Malfoy decided he just had to borrow Ron's book for some stupid reason and found the response letter and that's why he was out looking for us, and Neville overheard him so he came to warn us and of course we left my dad's invisibility cloak at the top of the astronomy tower... Sorry," he added upon realizing he'd rambled. Minerva shook her head. She wasn't surprised he had his father's invisibility cloak, and even though it'd allow him to get into trouble, it also would help him get out of it in dangerous situations.

"Do not worry Harry, I was able to keep up just fine, though I do wish you had more faith in us teachers to take care of things like that. We wouldn't have let Hagrid get in trouble. Though he does need a lecture on how if it doesn't hurt him doesn't mean it's safe around any of us or the grounds..." she muttered, sometimes she wondered why Albus never asked them to teach Hagrid anything, though now for sure they could since he was cleared.

"He's a great friend, but he does have weird tastes in animals, he named a three headed dog Fluffy, Fang the cowardly dog, and then he named an acromantula Aragog..." Harry shook his head, amused, but also trying not to think of how terrifying two of those three were. Minerva pinched her nose.

"An acromantula? And how did Hagrid get ahold of one of those?" She sighed in exasperation.

"No idea," the boy responded honestly. "But that's how Riddle framed him for the Chamber, he had Aragog back then. Now Aragog has a family and lives in the Forest."

"...and how do you know about that then? Did Hagrid tell you or did you encounter the colony?"

"Err... It kind of works better in the full story of this year?" Harry offered tentatively.

"We will need to work on your ability to trust adults, and I can't say it is only your fault. I should've at least heard you out about the Stone," she admitted.

"We probably should have told you our suspicions in a different way though Professor," Harry replied sheepishly.

"Call me Aunt Minerva," she reminded him before addressing the important part of what he said,  
>"maybe you should have, but as your professor, I should have heard you out to see why you thought that instead of thinking you were being suspicious about nothing. Both your parents could get that way if there was a mystery about. Too curious for their own good, and able to put together pieces that made for some outlandish theories if one didn't listen to their reasoning, and more often than not, your father was wrong because he somehow would end up with wrong or incomplete facts. I keep making the mistake of assuming you're like your father because you look like him, but you are clearly not. You went after the stone for different reasons than he would've for one."<p>

"How do you know?" Harry queried. Her lips quirked.

"He would've gone to protect the stone and then brag about it. You kept it all to yourself, not even much liking the attention brought upon you at the Leaving Feast. Why was that?" she questioned curiously, hoping he would answer instead of clamming up. It was hard to tell with him sometimes. Harry sighed. This was one thing he didn't mind sharing because so few noticed that he hated the attention.

"I don't like my fame," he started bluntly, "and protecting the stone was something everyone expected of me. And yeah, I did kind of want to prove that I could do it because I don't like being famous for something I don't remember, but mostly I just wanted to keep Voldemort from coming back and after that I just didn't want to deal with more fame for having done it. And... Dumbledore-"

"Professor Dumbledore," she reprimanded gently. He made a face.

"Takes too long to say professor when I'm talking like this... professor," he added with a small smirk. Minerva couldn't help but chuckle at his cheekiness, that was so his father, but with a twist that was uniquely Harry. "Dumbledore awarded all those points at the Leaving Feast... And I don't get it. Did he want Gryffindor to win that badly? I mean it was brilliant that we won the House cup but I didn't like the methods. Shouldn't we have been punished for breaking school rules? And why award them in front of the whole school? I would've preferred that it stayed private. And Ron spent the rest of the night bragging and most of the next morning and Hermione was rather pleased too at the popularity it got her and well okay I think Neville deserved to be awarded those points in front of everyone, I mean he usually only earned points in Herbology before that... I'm rambling aren't I?" He paused and took a moment to figure out what his point was. "But the worst part was how cruel it was to the Slytherins. I mean, they came to the feast thinking that they'd won but then had that snatched away from them after they got to enjoy some of the spotlight... I don't mind Malfoy having gotten taken down a peg but I saw Tracey Davies crying and some of the other first and second years too..." Harry shook his head. "I didn't want to win the cup that way..." Minerva stared at him before smiling and shaking her head.

"Harry Potter... You are a rare one of a kind person. Not many your age would think of others, especially a rival house in such a way. Your mother would be proud. Your father would be proud... and I am proud of you as well." She hugged him impulsively. He stiffened at the contact before relaxing and tentatively returning the hug, grinning widely and yet trying not to shed tears hearing that his parents would be proud of him. He'd never been told that before. And his professor was also proud of him too! He grinned. No one would believe him if he told them which was fine because he wanted to savor this moment by himself rather than have anyone spoil it. Feeling a bit embarrassed when she didn't let go, and a bit tired of the emotional stuff and truthfulness, he decided to change the subject.

"I still have issues with some of the first year curriculum," he admitted suddenly. "Could you help me? I really want to be able to help Ginny more and while I could do that with Charms I can't really do that with most of the other classes..." Minerva smiled and nodded.

They spent an hour discussing theory, during which McGonagall encouraged Harry to speak up and to occasionally come to the answer on his own if he knew the tools needed to get there. She enjoyed the discussion and mentally took notes on his behavior. It was interesting to see where he was lacking, especially since it seemed in many of those areas they were also areas everyone but Hermione struggled with. It also helped to see his thought processes because sometimes it seemed that his attention wandered easily in class, but here one on one it was easier for him to focus on the topic at hand, especially with him so enthusiastic about learning it for once. As she stood, she wondered if maybe she should figure out a way to change her teaching style. She sighed. Sometimes she wished that teaching wasn't a 'throw a master and/or expert into it' sort of job. Harry poked his head back in suddenly.

"Pro-" he hesitated before continuing, "Aunt Minerva, can I see the trial transcripts? Maybe they have why Sirius Black betrayed my parents. If they don't... is there any way I can talk to him or something to find out? I... I don't know what to think right now. I want to hate him for having a part in taking away my parents but I want to know why... I... need to know why." His fists curled up at his sides, his expression determined and sad. "I need to know why another person supposed to take care of me hates me so much... I did nothing to him... so please professor... er Aunt Minerva" he begged. Minerva moved to hug him. His eyes were sparkling with unshed tears and her mothering instinct that had died with James rekindled. She hugged him tightly.

"I will see what I can do," she promised. "But there is nothing wrong with you. Whoever hates you, there's something wrong with them. You are a wonderful young boy, thoughtful and sweet, unlike most boys your age. You're a treasure." She stroked his hair a bit as he looked up at her, smiling.

"Thank you pro-Aunt Minerva. Good night," he called as he left, a small skip in his step and a grin on his face. She chuckled, the silver was fading but it was still there... and he looked adorable like that, and reminiscent of the baby Harry she remembered.

Minerva McGonagall returned to her desk. After 10 minutes, she found herself unable to concentrate on grading. Her mind kept wandering to the beginning of the conversation with Harry and the end of it. With a sigh she put aside the grading and turned to writing two letters. The first was straightforward, a letter to Amelia Bones requesting the trial transcript of Sirius Black so that Harry could find out why his godfather would do such a thing. The second was a bit trickier. She tapped the quill on the desk as she thought and soon struck an idea on how to start it.

_Dear Remus Lupin,_

_ It has been a while since I heard from you. I hope you have been staying well, I know that you don't take good care of yourself after the full moons without someone around. Maybe you could visit sometime soon. But that is not the reason I am writing you today._

_ I just found out something that disturbs me deeply, Remus. Harry Potter knows nothing of his parents. Nothing. Why have you not contacted him? Did Albus tell you not to? If so, I'm telling you you should, who cares about Albus' greater good. Harry is planning on writing you, and you better answer. He already nearly broke down after finding out that his godfather was the one who betrayed his parents. I told him briefly about you, though I did not mention what condition you have. That is up to you to share or for him to find out. He's hurt that you haven't contacted him, so you better come up with a good excuse and then try to be in his life. He needs that much._

_ Harry is so like his parents. He has both of their curiosity. Combined. It's gotten him into more trouble than anything these last two years, though that may change since he discovered pranking tonight. He and his friend pranked themselves with color-change potion, and then pranked the resident pranksters with it. Those twins had never been pranked before._

_ Harry certainly has his parents' intelligence now that he is willing to show it. He is a little lazy like James, and yet enthusiastic about learning the theory like Lily was. You'll be pleased to know that he's not a bully. He actually hates it and tries to stop it when he can. He hasn't lost his temper often, but I believe it is a combination of James' and Lily's. Slow to ignite like James, simmering until one thing pushes him, and then he will explode like Lily always did. He has an amazing amount of self-control over it though I fear that may not be enough in coming years. And even though he has many traits of his parents, there are a few that are uniquely him. Some most likely because of his upbringing, and he isn't a saint by any means. He just has different behavioral problems than his parents, James in particular._

_ You should tell him of your condition. I do not think he will care, he is not one to judge by problems like that. It also would be better to tell him yourself since with his curiosity, he likely will figure it out on his own. After what he went through this year, he won't judge you because you're a werewolf. This year we had some... issues surrounding the fabled Chamber of Secrets and everyone in the school was on edge. He accidentally then revealed that he is a Parselmouth, which I am not sure he was even aware of. After that revelation, almost everyone in the school shunned him, even his own classmates. Gryffindor did try to protect him as one of their own, but I noticed that even that interaction was more cold than before. Only his true friends stood by him. People turned on the Boy-Who-Lived simply because he has a dark gift, Remus. He won't do the same to anyone else. Take some time to think about it, please. I cannot be his only link to his parents as I still have to fulfill a role as his professor and head of house._

_ However, I do have a more serious topic to discuss. I mentioned above his reaction to his godfather. He did bring up some interesting points surrounding the situation. We've been thinking that Sirius Black was a good enough actor we never caught on. Some of the things he would do with Harry just to make him happy all those years ago, I'm not sure even a spy would do that. As I told Harry today, I would've suspected Peter over Sirius for being the spy. He was always so jumpy, and he had some excuses that were so flimsy they rivaled your full moon excuses. He didn't even much play with Harry, and Harry didn't like playing with him either._

_ Now it makes sense then that James and Lily would keep on pretending that Sirius was secret keeper. He was the decoy so that Peter could be undiscovered. It certainly makes more sense than Sirius turning out dark after everything he did for you and with you and the other Marauders through your school career. But then that doesn't fit with what happened when Sirius went after Peter. Peter accused him of being secret keeper and then Sirius blasted him to pieces. Harry brought up a good question here... Why was the biggest piece of Peter found a finger? Surely they would've found more pieces, maybe not that big but still, more pieces with Sirius blasting him._

_ Did Sirius, James, and Peter become animagi for you while you were at Hogwarts? And don't you dare try to lie to me, Remus John Lupin. I sat with you for every full moon your first two years here at Hogwarts because animagi aren't affected by lyncanthropy and because I didn't want you to be alone. You were so scared and insecure back then. I've suspected for a while that James at least became an animagus at Hogwarts. He certainly finished the requirements quickly, even the potions required. He insisted on doing that part alone or with Lily. If he became an animagi during school then it's likely that the others did too._

_ If Peter became an animagi, there are a few things that could mean. The animagus form reflects who a person is inside, remember. Also, if his form is small, I believe he could easily chop off his finger, set off a blast and then transform, gone by the time the aurors arrive. I will have to try something like it myself to see if it's possible, but I don't see why it wouldn't be._

_ Maybe it's just an old lady's ramblings and delusions. Even after all these years I still find it hard to believe that Sirius Black. Padfoot. That that boy would ever do such a thing. He may have been cruel and a bully but with the possible exception of Severus Snape, he'd never kill someone in cold blood, at least the boy we all knew wouldn't. On the other hand, Peter was silent and a tag along, we could never be sure of what he was thinking, and I'm not sure I know half as much about him as I do Sirius. Harry requested to see the trial transcripts, so I'm sending a letter out to see if we can get them. Maybe that will finally convince me that I'm just going crazy and that this hope is a vain hope._

_ All the best to my cub,_

_ Minerva McGonagall._

McGonagall read it over a few times and then nodded in satisfaction. She hoped that Remus would listen to her at the least. She worried about him all the time, but with school duties, she rarely got the chance to attempt to contact him. She set the letter aside so the ink could dry, and finally returned to grading, satisfied she'd done all she could for Harry at the moment.

**A/n Well, here we are at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it.**

**I don't know if I'll get another chapter up by the end of the month. It depends on how NaNoWriMo goes and if I feel up to writing ff chapters after a day of intensive writing.**


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